Back to the Beach
by ober22
Summary: Sam and Freddie return to the beach where everything changed for them. Future fic, sequel to Beach Weather.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I don't own iCarly. I want to apologize about the crazy, long delay, my schedule got really hectic all of a sudden, so I've been writing in fifteen minute bursts when I get the chance. This is the sequel to Beach Weather. The first chapter is a short continuance of what happened at the end of Beach Weather. It's pretty OOC and I apologize, but I had to do it this way to get the point across. It's fluffy and mushy, but I like it, and I felt that it was necessary for the flow of the story. After the first chapter, it fast forwards to five years later, after Freddie, Sam and Carly have graduated from college. Sorry about the long, rambling note, but I hope you enjoy. Freddie's POV.**

_Chapter 1_

_Five Years Ago_

_Spencer turned the key in the ignition and the car came to life. As we left the parking lot, and drove away from the beach, Sam slid over closer to me, wrapping her arm around my stomach and putting her head in the crook of my neck. I knew I was smiling like an idiot, but as I put my arm around her and pulled her even closer, I could feel her own smile grow. Maybe it was just the beach that brought Sam and I closer, maybe it was something bigger. Things could change when we get back home, and something like this could never happen again. The only thing I know for sure is that right now, at this very moment, there's no where else I'd rather be._

The traffic out of the small beach town was heavy, even though we had waited, and it took awhile for us to reach the highway. No one really said much aside from Spencer, who was singing along with the radio, loudly and off key. Once we finally merged onto the highway, Spencer stopped singing and focused on the road, something I knew we were all thankful for. He tended to get a little distracted while driving, and it was safest for all of us that he gave his full attention to the road.

Once we were in the right lane, stuck in the steady stream of traffic, Sam snuggled closer to me and the smile returned to my face. I listened as her breathing became even and deep, and I knew she had fallen asleep. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head quickly, not wanting to wake her. I turned to stare out the window, watching the lights blur on the side of the highway, the events of the day replaying in my mind like a movie. Every so often Sam would shift her position, mumbling about ham, dragging me away from my thoughts. I wrapped my arm tighter around her once her movements stopped, and went right back to my thougts.

When we finally made it back to Bushwell, I was assigned the task of waking Sam up, which may be one of the most dangerous tasks on Earth. Usually I would go for an approach such as throwing a pillow at her, even though that usually resulted in either a black eye or fat lip for me, it was the most effective way. However, todays events had inspired me to use a gentler, more calm approach. I crossed my fingers and leaned down, close to Sam's ear.

"Wake up, Princess Puckett," I whispered, trying to remain calm. I gave her arm a small squeeze, hoping that she wouldn't flail about like she usually did when woken. Thankfully, my precautions weren't necessary tonight.

Sam opened her big, blue eyes and stared up at me, a small smile spreading across her face.

"Fancy meeting you here, Frednerd," she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. Blinking a few times, she slowly became more awake. I let go of her arm and slid out of the car. After a minute of stretching and yawning, she started inching her way across the seat, towards the door. Towards me.

I started to walk to the front door, when I heard her voice and turned around.

"Think I can get that ride now?" Her question made me smile, and I walked over to her, bending down so she could hop on. Once she was on, her arms secured around my neck, we made our way into the building.

"NO CARRYING PEOPLE IN MY LOBBY!!!!!" Lewbert's shrill screaming echoed in the empty lobby, and I tried my best to ignore him. He continued yelling until I felt Sam move a little. The next thing I knew, a small rock was flying through the air, and smacking Lewbert in the face. Where she got the rock, I couldn't tell you, but I wasn't about to question it. I ran to the elevator, hoping we wouldn't have to wait long. As soon as the doors slid open I hurried in, pressing the button up to the eighth floor.

There was silence in the elevator, but it was a comfortable one. With a soft ding, the doors slid open, and I took the first few steps out of the elevator before Sam tugged on my shirt. I let go of her legs, and she slid off my back. I turned around to face her, but she didn't move, just stood there staring up at me.

"You okay?"

Sam didn't say anything at first, just walked towards me and looked down at the ground. I reached out and lifted her chin with my fingers, forcing her to make eye contact with me.

"What's wrong?" She shrugged, trying her best to hide whatever was going on inside her head. As I moved my hand down her cheek, and settled it on her shoulder, I felt her body droop a little, and she let out a sigh. She still didn't answer me, and I could see the wheels spinning behind her perfect blue eyes, but knowing Sam, as much as I wanted to know what she was thinking, she wouldn't tell me until she was good and ready. She broke the eye contact and stared at the ground for awhile. After what seemed like forever, she drew in a breath, and looked up at me.

"Well, I was thinking before. Do you remember what we talked about today Freddie? About us fighting, and how maybe it meant something else other than being friends? How maybe our fighting might lead to more than friendship?" All I can do is nod, hoping that she's saying what I want her to say. I know that she'll never come out and say it, so I suck up my courage and ask.

"So, are you saying that you...that you want to be more than friends?" The smile that spread across her face reminded me of the sunshine we had been soaking up earlier in the day. She shrugged then, a typical Sam move, but I didn't expect anything else.

"Maybe I do, Nub Nub. What do you have to say about that?" She wrapped her arms around my waist and stared up at me, and there was no turning back after that. I leaned.

**I'm not so sure how I feel about this. I feel like it's awkward and I'm really hoping that after this the story will get much better, so please don't give up hope on the story yet. Next chapter, fast forward.**


	2. Through the Years

**A/N: Before I start with this chapter, I need to apologize to each and every one of you for my unforgivable year long absence with this story. I really wanted to focus on getting **_**Things Change**_** finished before I started this, and now that it's finally done, I can give this my full attention. The characters are a little OOC, mainly because they're older, and I like to think they've matured somewhat, so I hope you don't mind that. This chapter is basically a summary of everything that happened between their day at the beach, and the present time, which is five years later. I want to thank each and every one of you who reviewed the first chapter, this is dedicated to all of you. Starting now, the story takes place five years after the first chapter and **_**Beach Weather.**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly.**

_Chapter 2_

_Through the Years_

_Freddie's POV_

Five years ago, Sam and I spent the day together at the beach. If you had told me that morning that everything would change by the time we got back to Bushwell, I never would have believed you. If you had told me I'd be kissing Sam by the end of the night, I probably would've had you committed. It had happened, though.

Sam and I officially started dating a few days after our day at the beach, but we waited a while after that to tell anyone. I think we were both waiting for the other to back out. After about a week, we finally decided to tell Carly. After all, she would have killed us if we told anyone before her. We were both nervous to tell her, because with Carly, you never knew how she would react.

In the end, neither of us could have predicted her actual reaction. She reacted pretty much how everyone else did when we told them. She thought it was some elaborate practical joke that we were trying to play, and laughed so hard she almost puked.

My mother's reaction was a bit different. She passed out cold, and remained unconscious for two hours. The second she came to, she speed dialed her psychiatrist and set up the next available appointment for me, because she was sure it was some form of teenage rebellion.

At first, Spencer was the only one who really believed that we were together. He swore up and down that he'd been waiting for it to happen for years. He even had a bet going with Socko, which he won, because we started dating before college.

During the first few weeks of our new relationship, things were a little awkward, but I figure most new relationships are. I'm pretty sure that at the beginning, Sam forgot we were dating half the time. She continued to hit me, and make fun of me, but I'd always see the realization hit her, and she'd give me a little nudge or something that I knew to take as her way of apologizing.

As the summer dragged on, things started changing. For one, I learned that carrying a bag of bacon or ham was a smart move, because it usually acted as a great distraction in the event that Sam got pissed off, which, let's face it, was often. Also, I finally had a growth spurt. When I was finally done growing, I was almost a foot taller than Sam. This gave me a huge advantage, because if she ever got mad at me, I could scoop her up, and even though she was strong, she had a hard time getting away.

She told me once that if she didn't have a reputation to protect, she might have stopped torturing me all together. In the same breath, she also told me that if I ever told anyone what she told me, she'd beat the crap out of me. Things didn't change much, but I didn't mind. Most of the time, anyway.

When school started, Sam continued to beat up nerds on a regular basis. I'm sure I was still on the top of her list of targets, but she did take it easy on me. She saved the Texas Wedgies for the rest of the nerds, something that Gibby still resents me for. I tried to get her to stop, but no amount of meat or Fat Cakes could ever make that happen.

As soon as senior year started, Carly and I tried our best to help Sam with school. We all wanted to go to college together, and though she fought it, and claimed she had no interest, she did try. Carly and I studied with her, and helped her with her homework everyday. Sometimes Gibby would tag along, too, but only if Sam hadn't been too mean during the day.

Our hard work paid off, and by March, the four of us had been accepted to the University of Washington. Sam would never admit it, but she was proud of herself, and so was I.

The rest of senior year flew by, a blur of days at the park, movies on the weekends, Senior Prom, and graduation. However sappy it sounds, I got a little emotional watching Sam walk across the stage to recieve her diploma. There had been times over the years when I'd been scared Sam wouldn't graduate, but she'd done it. I might have even shed a tear if she hadn't chosen that moment to hug Principal Franklin, and scream something about finally getting out of this place. Typical Sam, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

We spent a lot of time at the beach that summer, sometimes the four of us, and sometimes Spencer would join us. By the end of the summer, we were pretty much inseperable, which made us going to the same college so great. We wouldn't have to deal with any seperation, which was great. It would be just like high school, only hopefully better.

Four more years passed, and a lot changed. Carly and Gibby started dating, if you can believe that. I've always meant to ask how that whole thing happened, but to be honest, I'm not sure I want to know.

Some of what we tried to teach Sam must have stuck, because a few weeks ago, we graduated, and all four of us have jobs starting in the near future. Carly's going to be a teacher. Gibby has a gig lined up to be a motivational speaker, something I find hilarious. I've got a job with the Pear company, working to develop a new video camera. Sam teases me about it constantly, but I try to ignore her. As for my favorite blonde headed demon of a girlfriend, she scored the perfect job for herself. She's going to be a food critic for Channel 2. I couldn't think of anything better for her than to be given free food, and talk about it on TV. She's excited, too. Especially since her first piece is going to be about a new fried chicken restaurant that opened up.

**A/N: I'm going to apologize for this, again. I really don't like it, but I wanted to get what had happened down and out of the way. It's way too short for my liking, but you can expect a new chapter much sooner than a year : )**


	3. The Right Moment

**A/N: Here's where the good stuff starts. Hope you like it!**

_Chapter 3_

_The Right Moment_

_Freddie's POV_

During the second semester of our junior year, Carly had decided that she absolutely had to study abroad in Paris. It was apparently also essential that Sam came with her. I'm not sure if she even wanted to, but Carly's a very persuasive person when she wants to be. I have no doubt that her reasoning including French meat and foreign boys.

The girls left that September, and that meant four months alone with Gibby. Don't take it the wrong way, he is one of my best friends, but it was just weird. We spent most of our free time palying video games, and doing other things that would certainly be classified as nub like by Sam. The truth was, we were both just trying to make the time go faster until our girlfriends would be back. I think we were both just hoping they weren't swept off their feet by some creepy French guy.

It had occured to us during their absence just how lucky we were to have them. We were clearly nerds, but somehow we'd both managed to have amazing, beautiful girlfriends. This wasn't something we were going to forget. It did a lot to make us seem less pathetic.

I don't know about Gibby, but those months without Sam were torture. At least he had his weird hobbies to keep his mind off life without Carly, but for me, every day felt like a week.

It was during those four months that I realized I'd never find someone else like Sam. Most of the time I was alone, I was thinking about her, as cheesy as that sounds. I'd lay there in bed at night, and remember every crazy thing she'd ever done, and it made me smile. I knew I could never find someone else like her, because in reality, there was no one like her. She was one of a kind, I was extremely lucky to have her, and our time apart made me truly appreciate that.

Her being so far away also made me realize how in love with her I was. I made up my mind about a week before she got back that I wanted to marry her. I even had a ring. That detail was something I hadn't planned, but I had been walking down the street and saw it in the window. It practically screamed Sam. She wasn't one for fancy jewelry, but there was something about it that I though she'd appreciate.

The ring wasn't extravagent, but it just seemed like it sc. The thing that made it special was the fact that it was surrounded by little brown stones. I knew she'd love it.

The hard part was keeping it a secret. I was in no hurry to propose, I just knew I wanted to. I also knew that Sam would probably kick my ass if I did it anytime soon. I'd been doing okay keeping the whole marriage thing a secret, and not dropping any hints, but it was when we'd go home to Seattle that I'd start to worry. Sam has this habit of going through my things whenever she was bored, which happened to be often, and the last thing I wanted her to do was find it.

I decided to ask Spencer if he'd keep it safe until I was ready for it. He had been dating a girl named Addison for about a year, and she had moved in with him, so I figured Sam wouldn't be snooping around in his room.

When I first asked him, he freaked out. He was insanely happy, and starting rambling on about Seddie and how we were growing up so fast. It was a little scary. The second Addison walked in, Spencer blurted out what I'd just told him, and that was when I remembered that Spencer was terrible at lying and keeping secrets. Luckily, Addison was skilled in the art of persuasion like Carly, and she was promised me she'd keep him in line.

The main reason that I went to such great lengths to keep the ring hidden from Sam was the fact that I didn't want to propose while we were still in college. If she had found it before we graduated, I would have been forced to improvise and ask her then, and that was definitely not something I wanted to do.

The other reason I wanted to wait went all the way back to our senior year of high school, about a month after we had started dating. I had been on my way up to the studio when Sam and Carly came back from the movies. It was another miserable chick flick like 'The First Kiss'. Carly had dragged Sam along this time, too. I was about to continue my trip upstairs, when Carly started talking to Sam about marriage, and for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to keep walking. I also may have decided to sit on the steps and listen to their conversation.

_"That proposal was so jank!" _

_I could practically hear Sam's eyes rolling, and I had to stifle a laugh._

_"Oh, come on! That was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen!" Carly had clearly enjoyed the movie more than Sam, and was ready to try, for the millionth time, to convince Sam she was right. "That proposal was so romantic, and he swept her off her feet! How could you think it was jank?"_

_"Maybe because I have a brain? How is doing something cliche like asking a girl to marry you in a restaurant romantic? It's cheesy and stupid. If a guy ever proposed to me that way, I'd throw my drink in his face, say no, and storm out of the restaurant." She continued to grumble, and I figured Carly probably had her appalled face on at that point._

_"W-what? Why would you do that? I think it's so cute, guys proposing like that. It's a classic! I swear, Sam. You don't have a romantic bone in your body. Your idea of a great proposal is probably a guy writing 'Will you marry me?' in some kind of meat." Sam scoffed at that, but I'm sure she would like that._

_"That's...well, actually Carls, that's a really good idea, but you're wrong. Just because I don't think that was romantic, doesn't mean I don't want a guy to go out of his way to think of a good way to propose to me." _

_That was when I was very glad that I had stayed where I was. It wasn't often that Sam opened up about things that weren't meat or violence, so I had to take the information where I could get it. Clearly I wasn't about to propose to her after a few months of dating, but it was always nice to know what she liked, and what made her happy. Especially when I needed something to distract her from hurting me._

_"Fine. I'm listening. Explain to me the way a guy could propose to you without you throwing a drink in his face." I heard a thud, and I knew my best friend and girlfriend well enough to know that they had moved their conversation to the couch. If I could see them, I would put money on the fact that Sam was sprawled out, taking up most of the couch, and Carly was sitting there with her arms crossed, waiting for Sam's explanation._

_"Well it's not like I've been sitting around dreaming about it, like I'm sure you have. I just know that all that romantic chiz in the movies makes me want to vomit. When a guy proposes to Mama, I want him to really know me. I want him to take me some place that means something to us. Some place where we have a history." _

_I was surprised by Sam's honesty, but at the same time, I had to be amused by her answer because it was just so...Sam. I heard sniffles, because of course Carly would start crying at the first sign of something romantic, even if Sam hadn't meant it to be. That was when I'd decided to go upstairs. I figured the rest of the conversation would just be Carly gushing about romantic chiz, and to be honest, I didn't care enough to stay._

That was almost five years ago, but after I bought the ring, that conversation thankfully made it's way back into my brain.

Sam wanted a proposal somewhere that meant something to her. It had taken me a while, but I'd finally narrowed it down to the iCarly studio, and the fire escape. It would be cliche, but it wasn't a restaurant, so I figured I'd be safe.

After graduation, the four of us decided to move back to Seattle. There wasn't anything keeping us from staying around the school. We weren't ridiculously wealthy, so that narrowed our search quite a bit, but it also gave us the idea that splitting a place four ways would be a lot cheaper than trying to find two different apartments. We'd wasted a lot of time scouring the Seattle real estate market, searching for a place for the four of us to live. Finally the answer came from none other than Spencer.

Turns out, he'd finally popped the question to Addison. They had decided, much to Carly's dismay, to skip a fancy wedding, and just get married at City Hall. She was pissed off that she wasn't going to be a bridesmaid, and had quite a guilt trip going for a while.

After they were married, Spencer and Addison decided to buy a house about ten minutes away from Bushwell, which meant that good old apartment 8C would be vacant.

Before we knew it, we were renting a U-Haul, packing the last four years of our lives, and headed back to Bushwell, back to where everything started.

It took us a while to get everything settled, and figure out where everyone would be staying. When that was all worked out, things were better than they had been in a long time. There was no more stress from school, and we all had jobs we enjoyed. Everyone was getting along, too, if you can believe it. Sam had even stopped giving Gibby wedgies. Only because Carly asked her to, though.

I still hadn't decided when to propose, but I knew I had to get the ring back from Spencer before he did something crazy, like turn it into a sculpture. Addison was the only one home when I went to get it, and she lit up when I asked to have it back.

"Is it time?" She was almost bouncing up and down. I hated to burst her bubble, but I didn't want to lie to her.

"No. I don't know. I've been waiting for some perfect opportunity to jump out at me, but so far, nothing. I just..." That was when Addison cut me off. She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the couch, pulling me down.

"Freddie, you and Sam work better than almost any other couple I've ever seen. You're also the most dysfunctional. I hate to break it to you, but there isn't going to be a perfect moment. You're going to have to look for something imperfect and make it work."

Addison and I talked for awhile about Sam and the whole proposal, and about everything that was going on. When I left, I felt significantly less stressed. Our conversation had also made me realize that no matter how long I waited, it wasn't going to get easier, so I decided that tonight was going to be the night I'd do it. I wasn't sure about every detail, but hopefully I'd figure it out as I went.

Luckily, Sam had a free night, so I took her to the zombie movie she'd been itching to see. After the movie, we went to her favorite barbeque restaurant, and all I could think about was the ring in my pocket, and how even though I wanted to get it over with, she'd reject me if I asked her there.

Once she was stuffed to the brim with ham and ribs, we headed home. In the elevator on the way up, it took everything I had not to start hyperventilating. With any luck, in a few minutes, Sam and I would be engaged.

Carly and Gib had planned to spend the night at home, so the door was unlocked, and in proper Sam fashion, she barged in. As we stepped inside, we were greeted by Gibby and a crying Carly, sitting on the couch. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sam stiffen up.

"Gibson! What did I tell you would happen if you ever did something to Carly?" Her voice came out as a growl, and in that moment, I was very glad not to be Gibby. I reached out to grab Sam, but Carly jumped off the couch, and ran over to Sam and I.

"No, Sam! He didn't do anything! Well...that's not exactly true..." To my horror, I watched as she lifted up her left hand. I felt my stomach drop, and I'm sure it was now relocated to Lewbert's desk.

"We're engaged!"

**A/N: I couldn't help but leave the cliffhanger. Once again, I'm not happy with this chapter, because it turned out to be much more of a filler than I anticipated. Next chapter will start with Freddie trying to figure out a new way to propose, and things will get moving from there. **


	4. Back to the Drawing Board

**A/N: For anyone who might even remember this fic, it's been a very, very long time since I updated it. Life has been crazy, and I've been working on other things, but I made up my mind tonight to get this chapter done, because I owe it to you readers, if there are any left. So without further ado, Chapter 4. I warn you now that it's nothing special, more my way of getting back into the story. I promise there won't be an 11 month gap between the next update either.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly.**

_Chapter 4_

_Back to the Drawing Board_

_Freddie's POV_

_"We're engaged!"_

And so began another chapter in the Freddie Benson Book of Bad Luck. Of all the nights that Gibby could have proposed to Carly, it just had to be the same night I was planning on proposing to my own girlfriend. It took pretty much all the self restraint that I had not to explode. I reminded myself that I was a grown man, and that Sam was the only person our age that could get away with throwing fits like a child. The only thing that made it a touch better was the fact that my disappointment wasn't because Sam had said no.

Staring blankly at the scene in front of me, I felt Sam pull from my grip. She and Carly met in the middle of the room, squeezing each other tight. It was a wonder that they could still breathe. There was jumping around and squealing, something that Sam only does in Carly's presence. I watched as Carly thrust her hand out and they gushed about the ring.

A part of me wanted to hit Gibby, but I knew how ridiculous that would be. He hadn't known that I was planning to propose tonight. No one did. Instead, I decided that for tonight, I could forget about my ruined plans. I made my way over to him and shook his hand, congratulating him. As the girls continued their inspection of the ring, he told me about how nervous he'd been, and how now it felt like the weight had been lifted off his shoulders. As he spoke, all I could think about was the fact that the weight on mine seemed to be growing heavier by the second.

When the girls finally seperated from each other, the four of us decided that we'd go out to dinner the next night to celebrate the engagement.

Dinner went well, including a very normal, heartfelt speech from Gibby. By the end of the night, I'd completely gotten over the anger caused by my ruined proposal.

After our dinner, I had a few things to finish for work, so I headed up to the iCarly studio, which we'd turned into a four way office when we moved back to Seattle. It wasn't really practical for us to keep a studio for a webshow that didn't exist anymore. The only thing that looked the same was Spencer's car sculpture, which we'd kept for old time's sake. Plus, Sam really liked napping in it.

I worked on what I needed to for about two hours before my eyes felt like they were going to fall out of their sockets. As I closed my laptop, my eyes settled on the picture of Sam I kept on my desk, one I'd taken a few years ago. We'd been at the park, and I'd managed to make her laugh at something I said. It was one of the few times she'd found something I said funny, and I decided it needed to be captured on film. Sam hated the picture, and every time she went up to the office to type up a review, she'd stow the picture in one of my drawers.

Staring at the picture, I thought back to everything we'd been through. I knew I was back to square one, but in a way, the timing of Gibby's proposal was a godsend. It gave me more time to prepare, and more time to make sure it was the proposal Sam would want. I saw how happy she was in the picture, and I knew I had to make her that happy again.

I packed up my work things and made my way downstairs to Spencer's old bedroom, where Sam and I stayed. I wasn't surprised to find her sprawled across the bed fast asleep. She was mumbling about fried chicken, which I knew from experience that she only did when she was exhausted. I've also known her long enough to know that you never wake Sam when she's fast asleep. It's hazardous to your health.

Luckily, when we had bought furniture for the apartment, I'd invested in a large, plush chair for occassions such as these. I threw myself down and opened my laptop, hoping that inspiration would strike. I was getting to the point that if I didn't figure out a good way to propose soon, I was just going to throw the ring at Sam and beg her not to beat me up too badly.

For old times sake, I clicked on the slideshow I made for our last ever episode of iCarly. There were hundreds of pictures. There were screenshots from shows, and pictures from school and other vacations we'd been on together.

It was odd watching as we grew up on the screen. I went from being the shortest of the bunch to towering over the girls. There were pictures of dances and things we'd done on iCarly. There was a whole reel of bad things we'd done to Nevel, and a few shots of people who'd been on the wrong end of the butter sock. Those were some of my favorites, especially since I'd been lucky enough to never be a victim. It was one of the few rules Carly made for the butter sock, and back then, I could have kissed her for it.

After a few screen shots of an old episode, Spencer appeared on my screen in a large dinosaur beach tube. Instantly, I knew what beach trip the photo had been taken. It was the day that changed my life. The day that everything changed between Sam and I. There weren't many pictures from that day, but all at once, I knew what I had to do. I knew exactly where I had to take Sam to pull off a proposal that even she couldn't refuse.

It was only March, and beach season wasn't for a few months, but now that I had some idea of how I was going to go about this, I felt much better about the situation.

When the weather finally got warmer, I'd plan a big trip the beach, and invite Carly, Gib, Spencer and Addison. My mind was racing, and the sleep I'd felt only an hour earlier was nowhere to be found. I knew it might be a sleepless night for me, but now that I'd found inspiration, I didn't even care.

The pictures on my screen continued to change, but I couldn't be bothered with them anymore. Instead, I sat there staring at the blonde headed demon that I planned on making my wife, with what I'm sure was a dopey grin on my face.

The next day while Sam was at work, I took a trip to see Addison. She was the only one who knew about my proposal predicament, and I knew she'd be excited to hear that I'd figured things out.

She ushered me into the house, and past a large sculpture of a cow made of pipe cleaners. When I stopped to look at it, she waited, rolling her eyes.

"My husband, the preschooler." Even though she was making a face, you could tell how much she loved him. I was glad that Spencer had finally found someone who could appreciate him for how he was, and not just things like his Pac-Rat skills.

"Come on, Ad. This is at least first grade material." I nudged her in the side and recieved another eye roll.

We sat down in the kitchen and as I spoke, Addison continued whatever she was making on the stove.

"So I figured out where I'm going to propose." My statement caused her to fling her spoon up in the air, resulting in globs of spaghetti sauce flying through the air.

"You did!" She squealed, and I silently thanked the gods that Sam was never a squealer. "Tell me, tell me!"

"When it gets warmer, I'm going to plan a trip to the beach. That's how our whole relationship started, and I figure it's a good place to take things to the next level. Do you think that's stupid?"

"Of course it's not stupid! Can I come? I need to witness this, Freddie." At this point, she was hopping up and down, a habit she most definitely learned from Spencer, and I knew enough not to deny her.

"I want it to be the six of us, that way we can celebrate when, well if, she says yes."

We spent the next hour thinking of ways to ask, and I had to tell the story of our day at the beach at least five times, before Spencer came home and interrupted us. I knew enough from the ring blabbing that I couldn't let anything slip in his presence.

Now I just had to be patient enough to wait for the warmth, and then hopefully, my favorite girl would be mine forever.


End file.
